In motor vehicles, in particular in passenger vehicles, the side windows in the region of the rear seats are sometimes designed as hinged windows in order to allow draft-free ventilation during travel. These hinged windows may be adjusted between a closed position and at least one open position by means of an adjusting device.
The conventional adjusting devices have a four-part leverbar linkage comprising a basic body, a link, an actuating lever and a connecting strap. The basic body is connected, at one end, to part of the motor vehicle bodywork. The connecting strap is connected, at one end, to the hinged window. The link is connected in an articulated manner to the basic body by means of a first hinge joint and to the actuating lever by means of a second hinge joint. The actuating lever is connected in an articulated manner to the connecting strap by means of a third hinge joint. A latching device with at least two latching positions is provided on one hinge joint, to be precise generally on the first hinge joint between the basic body and the link.
The latching device has, as latching body, a cylindrical roller body, which is guided in a guide slot of the associated hinge part, said guide slot being coordinated with the cross-sectional shape of the roller body. The latching device has, for each latching position, a latching notch which is arranged on the other hinge part of the hinge joint in alignment with the movement path of the latching body. Arranged in the guide slot of the latching body is a pressure-exerting spring which subjects the latching body to a force in the direction of the latching notch, which is arranged in the other hinge part of the hinge joint. The latching notches are in the form of a hollow cylinder section.
The disadvantage of this latching device is that the clear width of the guide slot has to be sufficiently large in order for it to be possible for the roller-like latching body to move therein without jamming. This results in the latching body also having lateral play in each of its latching positions, and in the two hinge parts thus being able to move to a certain extent in relation to one another. This means that, in the open position in particular, the relative wind against the hinged window gives rise to vibratory movements, which in turn produce corresponding rattling noise. In the closed position of the hinged window, these vibratory movements and the resulting noise are only avoided when the seal of the hinged window produces a sufficiently large restoring force in the closed position.
The object of the invention is to provide an adjusting device for hinged windows in the case of which, in the open position of the hinged window in particular, vibratory movements and rattling noise are at least reduced or avoided altogether. This object is achieved by an adjusting device according to one of claims 1 to 4.
Since, in the case of the adjusting device according to claim 1 or claim 2, the latching notch has, in a plane aligned perpendicularly to the hinge axis of the hinge joint, a vertical projection or a section with two border lines positioned obliquely in relation to one another, two clearly defined abutment surfaces are provided for the latching body. Since, on the spring plate, the normals to the abutment surface for the latching body are inclined to a certain extent in relation to the alignment of the longitudinal guide of the latching body, the contact-pressure force of the pressure-exerting spring, at the same time, produces a force component which is aligned normal to the guide surface of the latching body and thus presses the latching body against the relevant guide surface of its guide slot and keeps it pressed against the same. Since the latching body butts, at the same time, against the two latching notch abutment surfaces, which are inclined in relation to one another, the latching body, and thus the entire hinge joint, is retained in a play-free manner in the relevant operating position.
Since, in the case of the adjusting device according to claim 3 or 4, the line of symmetry of the vertical projection of the latching notch is inclined by a certain angle in relation to the radial line from the hinge axis of said hinge joint, the two abutment surfaces of the latching notch subject the latching bodies to a reaction force in each case, of which the lateral force components are of different magnitudes. The resultant of these two lateral force components presses the latching body against one of the guide surface [[sic]] of its guide slot and keeps in pressed against the same. This also avoids vibratory movements and rattling noise of the adjusting device.
A configuration according to claim 5 achieves, on the one hand, optimization of the adjusting force for the adjustment of the hinged window from one operating position into the other, and on the other hand, there is sufficient retaining force in each of the operating positions.
A configuration according to claim 6 or 7 achieves a sufficiently large lateral force component, which is generally sufficient in order to avoid vibratory movements and corresponding rattling noise. This applies in particular to a development according to claim 8, in the case of which the adjusting force for closing the hinged window is greater than the force for opening the hinged window. As a result, even in the case of relatively high traveling speeds with greater wind forces against the hinged window, undesired slamming shut of the hinged window is avoided.
In the case of a configuration according to claim 9, in addition to the closed position, it is possible to achieve two open positions of the hinged window, the different center angles of the different positions of the latching notches taking account of the geometric relationships of the parts of the adjusting device in order to achieve at least more or less the same extent of adjustment of the hinged window between the two open positions.
In the case of a configuration according to claim 10, even with the latching body design of the latching ball, the production of the latching notches is very straightforward.